Suspect arrested after 5 stabbed in unprovoked attacks in Queens, police say
By Mark Morales, Brammhi Balarajan and Celina Tebor, CNN
(CNN) — A suspect has been arrested in connection with at least five unprovoked stabbings across Queens this month, a New York Police Department spokesperson said.
Jermain Rigueur, 27, faces multiple counts of attempted murder, assault, attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the spokesperson.
CNN has reached out to the Queens district attorney for comment and to determine whether Rigueur has representation. A spokesperson said the office has no information on the case yet.
Prior to the arrest, police were looking for a suspect who was “randomly stabbing people with a hunting knife,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference Wednesday evening. There was no connection between the victims, who all suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The stabbings occurred over a 9-day span between midnight and 8:30 a.m. in southern Queens, Chell said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that Riguer attacked six people, but authorities are still investigating.
The most recent attack on Wednesday morning occurred after the suspect and victim got into a verbal dispute on a bus, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny.
Also on Wednesday, a 71-year-old man and a 41-year-old man were stabbed minutes apart, both while walking, police said.
Video surveillance shows the suspect appearing “to be talking to himself” and “stabbing the front window of a bodega” after the attacks, Kenny said during the news conference.
A woman was stabbed in the torso while walking home on Tuesday, police said. The man approached her from behind and then fled.
The first attack happened on January 8 when a 61-year-old man was stabbed while walking, according to police.
The stabbings are “very random, not a word was said, totally unprovoked,” Kenny said.
Seventy-five detectives worked the case with patrol officers swarming the area, police said.
Police were also investigating a stabbing in Brooklyn to determine whether the perpetrator is the same suspect.
CNN’s Maria Sole Campinoti contributed to this report.
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